


Eldertale

by maddoo



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk (Undertale), Hurt/Comfort, Mute Frisk (Undertale), Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Time Skip, no beta we die like chara
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29542326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddoo/pseuds/maddoo
Summary: The ninth human falls down. The Underground is daunting, but the eighth human is there to guide them home.
Relationships: Frisk (Undertale) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	1. Fallen Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for panic attacks and asphyxiation/strangulation.  
> enjoy the chapter- this is the first fic i've ever written so please leave any and all criticism in the comments!

_ “C’mon, keep up!” _

_ “Toby, this isn’t funny—” _

_ "Don’t be such a baby, we’re almost there!” _

_ “M… Mom said to stay by the picnic table…” _

_ “Mom says a lot of things. Besides, she’s setting up lunch. She’ll never notice!” _

_ “B-But…” _

_ “Fine. Go sit by the table if you’re so scared-” _

_ “I’m… I’m not—” _

_ “ _ **_Sure_ ** _ you’re not. See ya!” _

_ “Hey, wa— wait!” _

_ “I thought you weren’t coming!  _

_ “...” _

_ “Well, keep up! And stop crying!” _

_ \-- _

_ “...wait, is that the cave? Are we here?” _

_ “Toby…” _

_ “Yoooooo…. Check it out! The acoustics! Hello!” _

_ Hello… ello.. ello… lo… _

_ “Sick.” _

_ “Toby, we need to go back—” _

_ “What?! We just got here!” _

_ “You know what Grandpa says about this mountain. People who come here—” _

_ “Never return? Jeez, you believe those dumb fairy tales?” _

_ “I just—” _

_ “Woah, look at that!” _

_ “...” _

_ “How deep do you think it goes?” _

_ “...” _

_ “Let’s see… Pass me that rock, will ya?” _

_ “...” _

_ “Ugh, stop crying. I’ll get it myself.” _

_ CLACK, CLAck, clack, click, clk, ck, c…. _

_ “Damn, it’s still going… Aw, I can’t see it anymore.” _

_ “...Toby?” _

_ “What? I’m just getting a closer look—” _

_ “G… Get away from there!” _

_ “Oh,  _ **_now_ ** _ you come running to me. I’m fine, A.” _

_ “Please!” _

_ “Hey, watch the vines—” _

_ “Ah—!” _

_ “Annie? ANNIE?!  _ **_ANNIE!!_ ** _ ” _

_ ANNIE, ANNie, annie, ann, a... _

_ \-- _

Strangely enough, as Annie felt herself slip off the edge, she stopped crying. Instead, she screwed her eyes shut, exhaled shakily, and wrapped her arms around herself. Bracing herself for the fall. Waiting.

Waiting…

Waiting?

Slowly, she opened one eye. It barely made a difference— darkness surrounded her. The only thing she could see was the pinprick of light she had fallen from, and the only things she could hear were the howling of the wind and the distant echo of her own name.

It was cold. She closed her eyes tight and hugged herself tighter.

She fell, fell, and fell some more. Her breathing became less shaky and more straight-up hyperventilation.  _ Stay calm, Annie. Count to ten. One… two… _ Deeper.  _ Five… six…  _ Darker.  _ N _ —  _ Nine... ten.  _ Ten wasn’t enough. The wind roared more fiercely past her ears.  _ Eleven… twelve… _ Suddenly, she felt a strange sense of calm wash over her. Though her eyes were shut, she could tell the chasm was suddenly full of a bright, brilliant light. She was falling through… something. Something intangible, yet very perceptible. It felt like falling through a cloud, but she wasn’t wet or cold anymore. She was just… falling.  _ Nineteen… _

_ THUD. _

Annie took an experimental breath. It worked.  _ I’m... alive? _ She took another.  _ My chest hurts.  _ She opened her eyes as she took a third. Her thoughts returned to her as she sat up, and she remembered her counting.

“...twenty.” She said the final number out loud. It echoed around the cavern, bouncing off of the black stone walls, the towering pillars, and the stalactites that littered the ceiling. Though she hadn’t seen any such illumination at the cave’s entrance, a gleaming light shone down from the top of the chasm, dimming more and more the closer it got to the ground.  _ Is that what I fell through?  _ She looked around for a moment, awed at the size of the cave. Annie released her arms from around her chest, stretching on the soft ground. ... _ huh? Why is it so soft? _ She sat up, glanced down, and noticed she had landed on a bed of golden flowers. They smelled soft, safe— and though they looked slightly faded with age, they were clearly well tended to.

Hesitantly, she stood up. Her legs were wobbly but unbroken. Her arms were unbruised. Even her sweater was untorn. Those flowers really  _ had _ broken her fall. As she brushed herself off, her gaze turned to the far wall. There was a crevasse in the stone; a long hallway that led to an ancient-looking door inlaid in the wall. She took a step forward, then stopped.  _ What if…? Danger? Another fall? ...Monsters? _

_ Well…. this day can’t get any worse.  _ Annie steeled every ounce of her resolve and kept moving forward. She walked into the darkened hallway, barely hearing her footsteps over the blood pounding in her ears. She arrived before the door and peered through it; she could just barely make out a small hill in the center of the next room, with a small yellow shape in the center.  _ More flowers? _

“Don’t be shy, come on in!”

Annie whipped around, scanning the room rapidly. No one was there. Heart racing, she turned back to the new room. Nothing moved there, either. She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice died in her throat.

“Yes, you! Come here, kiddo!”

With nowhere else to go, she took a few tentative steps forward, stopping at the base of a patch of grass. As she fully entered the room, she noticed four key things. One, it was a lot smaller than the previous room; just the hill and a door similar to the last one. Second, the brilliant light that had filled the cavern was gone. Small, glowing crystals were scattered across the cave, providing just enough light to see. Third, the hill in the center of the room sloped up gently to support a single golden flower. Fourth, the flower was  _ smiling at her _ .

“Howdy! I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower!”

She took a deep breath. “I’m… Annie.”

“Annie!” It beamed. “What a nice name! You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha?”

_ Maybe it can help…  _ “Yes… I— I was climbing with my brother and I  _ told  _ him that we shouldn’t go, b-but he wouldn’t stop and then— and then he got close to the edge. I  _ told  _ him,  _ I told him _ to get away and he made fun of me and— and— I got up to pull him back but I tripped so—“ The sound of her voice echoing around the cave brought her back to herself. All her pent-up fear, anger, shock, unloaded onto a stranger…  _ Dad says that’s rude. _ She flushed and turned away. “… so I fell,” she finished meekly. Flowey smirked down at her, amused.

“Golly... You’re a  _ lot _ more talkative than the last person who came through here… not that that’s saying a lot… hey, neither are they!” It cackled at its own joke. Normally the laughter would’ve put Annie at ease, but she felt even more afraid _ —  _ The smile didn’t reach its eyes. They stayed black, cold, and cruel. She began glancing over her own shoulder.  _ How fast could I run away…? Should I call for help? Is anyone even here?  _ Flowey stopped laughing, watching her think. A bit of the interest left its eyes.

“... Oh. Not very...  _ determined _ , are you?” Annie swallowed, then shook her head quickly. The flower leaned back in its stem. “Figures. Another human finally falls down and they’re just another side character. Pity.” Flowey chuckled. “Thought I’d get someone who’d fight back, since  _ they  _ are too much of a coward to do it— this time around, anyway. But it means you can’t come back...” An odd expression fell over its face. “Hmm… You know what?”

Annie shuddered. She took a step backward. “...what?” Beneath her feet, the ground rumbled gently, and she noticed thorny vines slithering around the walls like snakes. They crept up the stone, blocking the hall she had come from, and they began inching toward her feet.

“Let’s drop the ‘cheery neighbor’ act, alright?” Its grin grew, oozing malice. “I’ve been so bored… for so long…” The creeping plants wrapped around her boots and continued to grow. Even without them, Annie was planted to the ground, paralyzed with pure terror. She could feel the tears building as she shook, thorns digging into her shorts. “Planning is fun, sure, but it gets old! And I haven’t had a new toy in decades.” Its smile widened further as the vines pinned Annie’s arms to her sides, slashing through her sleeves. She started shaking her arms to no avail; in response, the plants began approaching her neck. Flowey giggled, stem growing taller and more crooked as it towered over the shaking child. “So… I think a human soul would be  _ exactly _ what I need.” Its laughter grew as Annie winced; the cords were growing tighter and tighter. “Shame! I schemed for all that time… just to have that missing ingredient waltz in. Not that I’m complaining.” Flowey looked pensive for a moment, pausing. Then, its grin returned, and its eyes lit up. An arc of small, white bullets spread around them, encircling Annie. She whipped her head around, eyes wide with terror, as she continued to struggle against the suffocating vines.

“It’s been fun,” said the flower. “Die.”

Flowey released an ear-splitting cackle as Annie thrashed more violently, heart pounding. She could feel the thorns needling her arms and legs, but her limbs were starting to grow numb. She could see the bullets getting closer and closer, but her vision was beginning to blur. The vines around her windpipe pressed tighter and tighter as her energy to fight ebbed away. The dim light of the cave’s crystals was fading. With the little air she had left, she breathed out and shut her eyes.  _ Mom… Dad…  _ Toby… 

She did not open her eyes, but she could see that the room was full of light, just as it had been before.  _ What?  _ Her breathing, though constricted, quickened.  _ How is it here?  _ She opened her eyes apprehensively, unsure of what to expect.

It wasn’t the light she had fallen through earlier. It was flame. 

Annie looked around to see that the small white bullets had been consumed by a circle of pure white fire. The room’s greenery was quickly caught up in the inferno; Flowey howled in pain, rescinding its vines in an attempt to extinguish them. With the plants gone, Annie collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she heard the flower turn towards the opposite door. “YOU!” it howled, hissing with anger and pain. Annie shifted onto her hands and knees, lifting her head to see the newcomer.

They were tall and slim, holding a small bag in one hand and wielding the white flame in the other. Their brown hair fell just above their eyes and beneath their chin. The deep purple tunic they wore was swept back by the raging fire, and ash soon covered their pants and shoes as they cast flame after flame at the flower. Their expression was strangely blank given the situation, but their brow still furrowed with anger. They took several steps towards Flowey, the fire disappearing wherever they stepped. 

“This isn’t— now’s not the time—” Flowey’s gnarled stem shrank further as the person gestured furiously at it. Despite the flames continuing to surround it, the flower seemed to be collecting itself, entertained by the other’s rage— or perhaps just wanting to save face. “Well, well, well…” it smirked warily, “It’s been a long time… How things have changed! Right, Chara?” The person’s frown deepened, and they set their bag down, passing a bit of the flame to their other hand. 

“Hey now! Why would you want to hurt little ol’ me?” it said, feigning innocence. “I was just playing with ‘er.” The stranger continued to advance, the flames in their hands growing and growing. The small, cheerful smile that Flowey had had earlier returned, and it shrunk to its original size. “Well… I’ll see myself out.” While the other stood still, stunned, Flowey whipped back around to face Annie, who stumbled back in an attempt to flee it. Its evil grin returned. 

“See you again soon,” it chirped. Then, it disappeared into the dirt a moment before the stranger’s fire scorched the earth where it had been planted. Just like that, gone.

As soon as Flowey disappeared, the stranger’s fury dissipated, replaced by a disappointing look. They shook their hands and the fire extinguished itself, and the inferno around the room began to die down, too. Annie watched as they brushed off their shirt, picked up their bag, and glanced around the room, surveying the damage; when their gaze reached the hill, they saw her. Their eyes met. A strange blend of emotions contorted their expression: anger, surprise, relief, concern, and overwhelming empathy. Then, they took a step towards her, stretching out their hand.

“ _ STOP! _ ” Annie cried. The stranger hesitated, wincing as if they’d been struck. Annie stared up at them with wide, terrified eyes, holding up a trembling arm. “Please… don’t hurt me.”

Their expression softened as they took a few more careful steps forward. Then, they glanced down, took a deep breath, and began rummaging in their bag. The stranger resurfaced with a small notebook and a smaller smile. Annie stared into their face fearfully, feeling her eyes well over with suppressed tears. She began to cry in earnest as they withdrew a small pencil from their notebook’s spine and scrawled a sentence on a page. They moved as if to show it to her, but stopped, setting it back down and sitting slightly further down the hill. Tear after tear slipped down her cheeks as she allowed her situation to wash over her. She had climbed the mountain that no one will ever return from. She had fallen. She would never see her family again. She had met a monster. It had almost killed her. Everything was wrong, wrong,  _ wrong.  _ Every new thought brought a new wave of tears.  _ No _ … She sobbed again, dropping her head into her hands.  _ Let’s… let’s count. One… two…  _ She stopped thinking.  _ Three… four…  _ Slowly— slowly, her weeping ebbed away, and she sat there, breathing deeply. The stranger sat next to her, letting her breathe.

After a few quiet minutes, Annie lifted her head. As she wiped away her tears with the tattered sleeve of her sweater, the stranger held the notebook at eye level. With a hiccupy, dry sob, Annie read her strange savior’s writing. 

_ Hello. My name is Frisk. I promise, I’m not going to hurt you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! second chapter coming whenever i get the chance. all comments/kudos greatly appreciated! see y'all :)


	2. Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie goes exploring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a nice walk through the ruins- enjoy the chapter!

“Your name is… Frisk?”

The stranger nodded, seeming pleased that Annie had stopped crying. They quickly scribbled another phrase on the paper.

_Yes. I’m sorry that flower attacked you. Are you hurt?_

Annie shook her head. She was shaken, sure, but once she had caught her breath, she felt alright. “Not really…” she replied hesitantly, “but I think it scratched me.” She glanced down at herself, assessing the damage. None of the damage Flowey had done was serious, but there were a number of shallow cuts scattered over her arms and legs. Those thorns were small, but they were sharp. Also noticing the injuries, Frisk rummaged in their leather bag again and tossed a small roll of bandages to her. Surprising herself, she caught it. She glanced back at them confusedly as they stood up, writing more in their notebook. It read;

_Try to patch yourself up. Don’t go anywhere._

Annie’s throat went dry as Frisk turned away from her, pocketing the notebook and striding towards the door. Suddenly the room felt bigger, darker; full of corners where more monsters could be lurking. She sat up straight. “W-Wait!” she called out. The retreating figure quickly turned around, eyebrow quirked with confusion. Now that they were looking back at her, Annie felt a little shyer. “...Do you have to go?” she asked meekly. Frisk smiled gently and set their bag on the ground. They quickly removed a small copper watering can from inside of it. It glinted in the cave’s dim light, and Annie noticed that there were small caps over the can’s spout and opening. Frisk gestured over their shoulder at the tunnel, removed the can’s coverings, and looked back at her hesitantly, as if asking for permission. All of a sudden, Annie understood. _They came to water the flowers?_ Curling her fist in the grass, she nodded. “I’ll stay.” Relieved, Frisk flashed her a thumbs up, turned back around, and left through the door, leaving their bag on the floor.

A short time passed. To keep herself busy, Annie clumsily wrapped the bandages around her arms and legs; she wasn’t the best at it, but it got the job done. She looked back down at herself, satisfied with her work. Afterward, she let her gaze wander around the cavern. Now that she wasn’t being attacked by a _murder flower_ , it was actually quite beautiful. The teal crystals in the ceiling glowed softly, giving the black stone of the walls a slight shine. As she looked around, her eyes fell back on the bag. Even though she was alone, Frisk’s bag was somehow a comforting presence. A reminder that they would be back soon.

She was right. After a few minutes, Frisk emerged from the tunnel, humming softly to themselves. They tapped on the can absentmindedly as they walked, clearing out the last few drops of water inside. Annie stood up quickly as they picked their bag back up, slinging it over their shoulder. “Welcome back,” she greeted hesitantly. Frisk nodded, smiling, as they reached the top of the hill. “Are you going somewhere now?” she asked. Again, Frisk nodded. “Can…” Annie swallowed thickly. “Can I come with you?” She fought to keep her voice calm, but her eyes stared upwards, pleading. _Please don’t leave me here._ Frisk seemed to understand the message in her gaze. They nodded, and as they passed her, they gestured for her to follow. She did, exiting the room without looking back.

The black stone walls and teal crystals of the previous rooms were gone, replaced by cracked purple bricks and torches scattered around the walls. Ivy decorated the walls and ceiling, making the room feel much more alive than the dark caverns that had preceded it. Red leaves littered the floor, framing two stone staircases that led up to a door. Annie gazed around the room, taking in the new landscape. _Who built this place? This room looks old. How old is it?_ She was shaken from her reverie by a snap— It was Frisk, and once her attention was on them, they gestured at a new page in their notebook.

_These are the Ruins._ Keep following me. Annie nodded, scrambling up the stairs to accompany Frisk through the door framed by vines.

They walked through a few more rooms similar to the first. Purple bricks and ivy stayed the same, but the puzzles (though it might be generous to call them that) were new. First, there were some buttons on the floor, then some switches on the wall. They weren’t difficult: around each puzzle, there were plaques, signs, and some incredibly obvious arrows that offered instructions. However, Frisk didn’t even glance at them as they solved the puzzles. Annie blinked at them. _Hm._ She picked up her pace slightly to keep up with them.

The next room was more of the same, but instead of a puzzle, there was a training dummy. It was covered in a light film of dust, but it didn’t look used— in fact, it looked like it’d never been touched. Annie took a few inquisitive steps towards it, wondering why exactly it was there.

Then, a large green _thing_ jumped at them from behind the dummy. Annie squeaked and darted behind Frisk, hiding from whatever it was. Frisk, however, seemed unperturbed. In fact, they were… _dancing?_ Annie looked up at them, confused, then peeked out from behind them. There, they saw a lime slime swaying _(Its hips? Does it have hips??)_ itself in time with Frisk. After the two were done wiggling around, it slid away. Frisk looked happy, and, somehow, so did the slime. As it retreated, Annie scrambled out from behind Frisk, terrified and excited and curious all at once.

“What was _that?!_ ” she cried, staring up at her protector. Frisk scrawled a quick response then showed it to her. _It’s a moldsmal. They’re friendly._ She looked back at the dummy, and then back at Frisk. “Mold… small?” _Huh_. Given how horrible her first monster interaction had gone, that one was… not so bad. “Like small mold? Like pudding?” She giggled at her own discovery. Nodding, Frisk slipped their notebook back into a pocket, took Annie’s hand, and continued on into the Ruins.

The two kept walking quietly. Every so often, Frisk would dart away to flick a switch or move a rock, and any spikes that blocked their path clicked loudly and shot out of sight. Whenever one of the _Molders… uh, Mallsmalls…. jello things_ crossed their path, they would simply nod at it and keep following the path. They did the same for some odd-looking frogs, a timid moth, and a very large carrot. And every time they darted away to deal with a puzzle or a creature in distress, they would come back, retake Annie’s hand, and keep leading her through the Ruins. Even though Annie had never met them, the gesture seemed strangely… familiar. Almost practiced. Her curiosity began to build more and more the farther they walked. _Who is this person?_ After a few more minutes, her patience wore out and she broke the silence.

“Did you build these puzzles?” Frisk shook their head, chuckling to themselves. Another large frog hopped across their path, catching her attention for a few seconds. When it was gone, she asked a follow-up. “Then who built them?” Frisk let go of her hand, pulling their notebook back out of their pocket. _Monsters built them a long time ago. My friend and I keep them running, though._

“How long have you lived down here?” _They have to know that_, she thought. Frisk looked pensive for a moment, then tucked their notebook under their arm. They put up ten fingers, put them down, then flashed them again. Annie blinked. “So… twenty? Twenty years?” They nodded.

“Are you… from here?” A subtle sadness fell over Frisk’s face at her words. Annie blanched, trying to fix her mistake. “I mean, my grandpa always says that only monsters live underground, but you don’t _look_ like a mon-” She paused, frowning. _The jello thing was different from the flower, so maybe some monsters look like people?_ “...are you a monster?” 

Frisk shook their head, expression clearing slightly. _I’m a human too_ , they wrote. Beneath that, slightly smaller, they had written _You sure do ask a lot of questions._ Annie looked back at the ground. “Oh.” She felt slightly embarrassed. “I guess. I mean, my mom says that too sometimes…” she murmured, shuffling through some more of the leaves. “So where did you co-” she started, but she was cut off by the notebook being thrust before her eyes.

_We’re home._

Annie looked up. They stood in front of a large, gnarled tree, staring at the building in front of them. It was made of the same purple brick as the rest of the Ruins, lined by the same red leaves, but there was something different about it. She couldn’t put her finger on it— maybe it was the faint crackling of a fireplace, or how Frisk visibly relaxed when they had arrived. Regardless, the place was immediately cozy. Annie took a few steps closer to it, feeling a sense of warmth that she hadn’t felt since she started climbing the mountain. She smiled.

“My child? Are you back already?” Annie saw the door to the house opening slowly, creaking as it went. “That was quick!” The voice was soft, motherly. Its owner chuckled warmly. “I had thought you were getting the groceries after watering…” The door closed with a snap. “…the flowers…” The voice began to fade as the speaker’s eyes met Annie’s, who stumbled backward in surprise. This person… was not a person.

“A human?” Her face and body were covered by soft, white fur, and her dark eyes were wide with shock. Horns protruded from her head, and her ears came down to her shoulders. The ( _goat? woman?_ ) figure wore a long, purple robe with white sleeves; on it, there was the same strange symbol that decorated Frisk’s shirt and the Ruins’ entrance. She leaned on a sturdy cane, made of the same dark wood of the tree planted behind them. The fur, the horns… it was all like the stories her grandfather had told her.

This was a monster. A boss monster, at that.

“Oh my… Dear, your poor sweater!” Annie winced internally; she had totally forgotten. Thanks to Flowey’s thorns, her red sweater was now in tatters. The monster looked back at Frisk, confusion and fear written all over her face. “What happened to this poor girl?” Annie let go of Frisk’s arm as they began to sign. The more they gestured, the darker the other’s expression became. She sighed. “After I thought it had left us alone for good… I suppose it was a mistake to believe anything that miserable creature said.” Her expression softened as she turned back to look at Annie. “Well, before we do anything else, we should take care of this innocent youth…” She leaned her cane against the wall and knelt before Annie, leg trembling as she did so. She reached out and gently took Annie’s hand— just like Frisk had done.

“Come in, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. Welcome home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy that took me a while to write  
> all kudos and comments greatly appreciated! thanks for reading :)


End file.
